10 Easy Woodworking Projects for Beginners

The word, Woodworking seems like Robot Science to many people who are still new to it and are anxious to learn. Woodworking doesn’t always have to be extremely daunting and confusing. While it takes extensive skills to do an advanced project, there are many fun and beginner friendly projects that require just the basic skills, introductory tools and simple step by step instructions. By working on such kind of projects, you will not only get experience in woodworking, handling the tools but also can build the confidence levels in the same.

I, as one of them who started from there, had an immense humble beginning. The first project that I have done induced a force inside me to learn more about the woodworking business by giving me a basic overview. It made me realise the value of a simple yet detailed design and the implementation of the instructions as well.

It has been many years till then, and I’m now completely taken by the woodworking both as a hobby and business. If you’re someone looking forward to starting your deal with woodworking, you can also check out Ted's Woodworking Course. Here are the simplest 10 woodworking projects for beginners. Have a look!​

1. Serving Tray

Serve and slice in style on this serving tray which can also be used as a chopping board. A simple way of scribing the arc and simply glueing all the parts together, this is the easiest you can do. Make sure that you’re using waterproof glue in order to keep the serving tray falling apart.

Materials: Maple Boards, Dowels of different diameters, Walnut Strips. (Decide the sizes based on the size of the server tray).

Procedure: Start drilling holes at the centre at 3/4 inches away from the ends of the strips. Clamp around give boards for scribing them together on the arc towards the end. Take a saw and then start sanding the arcs on each and every board. Assemble them together and glue them. Now, unclamp and drill holes of smaller size at undersized corners. Glue the handles and feet and then coat the tray with Block Oil.

2. Shoe Stand

Shoes are a mess when you don’t organise them, lying next door. You can untangle this mess with an attractive shoe stand that keeps everything in a systematic way. All you need to is get hold of dowels and glue them in order to form a standard shoe stand and then decorate it according to your interior design theme before you go on with anything.

Procedure: Start cutting the dowels for supports and then drill the holes for the screws in order to hold them up. Now cut four members of dowels of adequate size in order to organise your shoes. Know that the average width of adult shoes is around 10 inches wide. Now, glue all the dowels with the supports leaving around 2 inches in the end to place slippers, etc. Place the bolts to add the strength to hold the entire shoe stand in a place. Apply the finishing before you mount and use the shoe stand.

3. Wooden Bench

Do you have a larger garden without any furniture? Looking at buying something that comes handy when you are outside? This classic outdoor seating can be made just in a couple of hours, and you can add ornamentation to it to make it look antique. All you need is two boards, some screws and you can finish the project in less than $25.

Tools: Speed Square, Drill, Circular Saw, Countersink Drill Bit

Materials: Two boards, Deck Screws, Adhesive (construction), Finish.

Procedure: Start with cutting the legs from the pieces of the wood and then cut the backrest and seat after that. Assemble the pieces according to the layout by placing the two sides as mirror images. Use the back and seat to align the wooden bench. Now, join all the legs using the deck screws and then glue them all with the adhesive. Predrill the holes to avoid the wood splitting before aligning the bench. Finish the bench either with stain or oil.

4. Storage Bins

Looking on portals to get storage bins for your books/magazines? Well, you can make your storage bins just at your fingertips by using two sheets of plywood and two boards, each of six feet long.

Procedure: Cut the plywood into eight different pieces of same dimensions. Use the bucket to make an S-curve on one of the piece from the high corner across the plywood to the opposite side. Once you’ve established the smooth curve, stack pairs and start taping all the sheets together. Flush the edges and drill diameters to glue them and bolt them together with finish nails. Apply the finish before using it.

5. Coat Rack

Envy about all those innovative coat racks and hooks that you see online? Well, you can make your very own coat rack and clear up all the clutter at the entry by investing one hour of your time in making the coat hook. You just have to cut the boards that fit the space and then paint them to give an exterior look and start screwing them either to the door or the wall.

Procedure: Start cutting the boards of your preferable size and then start attaching hooks to the boards using the glue. You can also use drawer pulls in the middle and a hook at the top to have variations in the holding and to hold things of different sizes. You’ll also find hooks of different sizes, colours, styles and prices at the online stores. Attach these boards to the studs or the walls using the anchors. Drive around three screws into the boards to make them stand.

6. Spice Rack

Enrich your kitchen by placing the spice rack that can hold around 18 different seasonings on the alert. It is not only fun to work on, but with the accurate dimensions and some painting; it can add some beauty to your dining table or the kitchen countertop.​

Tools: Brad Point Drill Bit, Wood Ball, Forstner Drill Bit.

Materials: Wood Discs, Susan Hardware, Dowel legs, Dowel Handle.

Procedure: Take a protractor and start making wedges on the larger disc at 30-degree angles. By this, you can create around 12 lines for the bottles. Now, trace the smaller disc on the larger disc. Use a drill press and start drilling holes on the 12 centre lines spacing them equally between the outer edge and the circles. Divide the smaller disc again into the same wedges, this time at 6-degrees to make 5 centre lines. Repeat the same procedure. Glue the dowels in order to stick the discs and then glue the dowel handle. You can drill a woodball to be used as a knob or can buy a ceramic knob to add some visual beauty.

7. Nifty Rack

Another addition to your kitchen, the time saver, is the best you can make with the lowest effort. In case if you have all your spices scattered in the drawer with the tops visible and you can’t decide which bottle contains what, you can make the nifty rack that simplifies things for you.​

Procedure: Using the Jigsaw, cut the drawer with little more than half. Secure the drawer slides towards the top by placing the edges of the drawer. Install the drawer backwards so that you can see the extension gliding. Build the tray a bit narrower than the drawer and with the same length. Start adding partitions to the tray based on your requirements at angles. Attach the bottom to the tray and then screw the drawer to the top of the tray and reinstall it.

8. Rustic Shelf

Elevate the interior beauty by adding a bit of nature to the indoor environment with this branch supported shelf. You just have to find two branches that act like forks with the adequate diameter to hold the shelf and a board that will sit on them, flushing with the wall.

Tools: Miter Saw, Glue, Drill Bit.

Materials: Plywood Board

Procedure: Cut the board of 1/4 inch diameter or more in preferable dimensions. Take the wooden branches and polish them into acting like supports in the shape of forms. Drill holes at the bottom in order to penetrate the branches into the board and then glue them. On the side, add drills to hang the board on the wall and flush it with the wall after applying the finish.

9. Knife Block

You will only need an hour to build this knife block and avoid the jamming of the drawer with the knives. All you need to do is take scraps of the plywood board and spend some time in cutting and glueing.

Tools: Miter Saw, Drill Bit, Circular Saw.

Materials: Hardwood Boards, Plywood Boards, Glue.

Procedure: Start with cutting a ten-inch board and set it aside. Rip the remaining board to six inches and then divide it into five saw kerfs that are equally spaced along a face. Crosscut the board into four different pieces and then glue them into one. Be careful about not slipping the flue in the kerfs. Now, cut a 15-degree angle on end and start screwing the plywood board under the angled end of the other block. Cut rabbets on the sides and start fitting them snugly in the box and add holes to attach the bolts. You can also gift this hand made the block to someone on a special occasion.

10. Address Number with Planter

How adorable it would be to have something like this that welcomes people to your home? This thing is not only simple but is extremely easy to make, and you can just hang it either with an anchor or fastening tape to create a perfect address number.

Tools: Miter Saw, Circular Saw, Drill Bit.

Materials: Fence Picket, Cedar Board, Metal Numbers, Plants.

Procedure: The entire project will cost around $25 or even less, and if you already have plants that you want to use, you will only have to water them regularly to maintain the freshness. Start with cutting the fence picket into three long pieces, each of them around 18″ long. Now, use the Miter Saw to make clean cuts, or a hand saw based on your strength. Make pocket holes on the cedar boards according to the available screws. Start attaching the second board for the planter to the plank by drilling holes and using the screws. The face on the front is for the plants. Attach the pieces with wooden glue and attach the metal numbers on the back board and the planter on the front. Apply a finish either with stain or oil before you anchor the address number to the wall.

Conclusion

That being said, check all of this attractive, skill-building and rather indulging woodworking projects for beginners and start with any one of them. You will not only add a wooden addition to your home but can also improve your woodworking skills by gaining experience, confidence and also by knowing more about the workability involved in the process.

All of these 10 Woodworking projects are unique to build, and they serve different purposes in your home which is why investing time and effort on any of them won’t be of waste. What are you waiting for?​ Get going!